'Phenomenal!' Whitefish boys, girls win Flatfish tourney

Golf coach Terry Nelson used words like "phenomenal" and "unbelievable" to describe the Bulldogs' efforts at the annual Flatfish Invitational Monday and Tuesday, where both the Whitefish boys and girls came out on top.

Nelson said the boys' first day score of 278 has to be a state record, adding "it beats anything I've seen." The boys' tournament total, 579, was the lowest team score ever for the Whitefish boys, and Derek Denning and Spencer Hughes' first-day scores of 66 were believed to set a new South course record for Whitefish.

Hughes won the boys side of the tourney for the third consecutive year; Denning was second, Sam Krause took third and Zac Wooten placed sixth.

The girls' 20-shot lead put them on top. Maresa Jenson was third, Alex Micklewright was fourth and Chelsea Ray was sixth. Nelson noted that Porsche Erekson had a great second-day shot of 93.

The boys and girls golf teams continued their successful run through the season posting victories at Butte/Anaconda and Polson last week. The boys won by 19 shots at Butte/Anaconda, while the girls won by 13 over second place Helena High. Missoula Sentinel finished second to the boys and posted an impressive 296 team total at the Butte C.C. The Whitefish boys were led by Derek Denning's 72 at the Butte C.C. and a team total of 296 for the second day to seal the team title.

Tyler Holtet, 75-76, captured second place in the two-day championship behind Derek Denning's 77-72. Matt Krause fired a second day 73 along with an 80 to move up to the fourth spot over-all, and Spencer Hughes, 78-78, was in sixth place.

"Having four boys in the top six in a tournament of this size is very impressive," Nelson said.

Freshman Sam Krause finished one shot out of the top 10.

The girls were very impressive in their victory with Maresa Jenson at fourth, Alex Micklewright in fifth and Chelsea Ray in sixth place.

"With some more focus on their short game the girls will all move up the leader board quickly." Freshman Chelsea Ray, who is playing both volleyball and golf, has had an impressive season playing the number three spot on the talented girls team.

"Chelsea has managed to balance her time quite well between the two sports; she's a talented athlete," Nelson said.

Porsche Erekson finished her second day with a good round of 93 to help the girls expand their lead. Hillary Johann continues her steady improvement and posted scores just over 110 each day.

Shooting a team score of 307 is excellent in high school golf, and that's just what the boys number two team did at Polson last Thursday, capturing yet another team title. Foreign exchange student golfer Karl Dieterich led the team with a round of 75, which included 15 straight pars in one stretch. Ben Hilleboe and Zac Wooten each posted good rounds of 77, followed by Andre Groschupf at 78 over the Polson C.C. Chris Conners finished his day with a good score of 82.

"It was really great to see Ben Hilleboe post a score that reflects his excellent ability at golf," said Nelson. "These guys are all good enough to play for any team in the state."

Robin Cross and Kelly Curtis represented the Lady Bulldogs in the Polson Invitational. Robin Cross scored at 120 while Kelly was just over 130 for the 18 holes.

"Both Robin and Kelly have good golf natural golf swings and will be varsity players by next season," added Nelson.

On Friday the varsity team will travel to Libby's Cabinet View Golf Course for the Western A Divisional tournament, where the top three-team and top 15 individuals will qualify for their state tournament. Unfortunately only one team from each school is allowed to compete at both divisional and state.

"It's too bad only five boys from Whitefish are allowed to compete, I think up to 10 of them could realistically qualify for state," Nelson noted.